Your hotel / hostel affiliated tour operators: reliable but generally not the best or cheapest.

As for operators found offline, ask these questions to determine their legitimacy:

Is the operator licensed and is there a professional website, physical office, business email and working telephone number?

Are there online reviews? Do they sound legitimate?

Is the price too low to be true? What does it cover (vehicles, guides, safety, insurance, hidden fees, etc)?

As for accommodation, find them via:

Hotel and apartments: Agoda– leader in Asia with the best selection and rates here generally.

Staying with a local host: Homestay – if you are up for gaining genuine insights of Vietnam by staying with a local host!

3. Overcharging and confusing currency

Vietnamese Dong. Source: hochiminhcityhighlights.com

How it works:

This scam is common around the world, but is much more easily executed here due to the large note denomination.

Overcharging can occur in many different ways:

Over conversion of currency

Giving less change by rounding up / down

Not giving any change by insisting on a tip

Changing the fare once the service is completed!

Many places also quote in USD to make overcharging easier for them. This is done by rounding up to USD (higher than the value in Vietnamese Dong) or by demanding payment in Dong while using an unacceptable exchange rate.

Also beware when a vendor tells you 10, it could mean 10 USD, 10,000 Dong or something else!

Besides this, always ensure that the fee is for the whole group and not for each individual.

For popular tourist markets such as Ben Thanh Market or the Hoi An Night Market, prices are also marked up by a few multiples, more if you are a Caucasian.

The culture here is that they do not see “overcharging” as a scam, but something acceptable since you can afford to pay more.

What to do:

Always clarify the price to be paid, in what currency and if it’s for the whole group. Also, always check your change.

Finally, at markets such as Ben Thanh Market, be ready to haggle, starting with 1/4 of the list price.

You can find out what is a fair price by checking out different stalls or by checking with your hotel / hostel staff.

Get a good travel insurance (e.g. World Nomads, trusted by Lonely Planet and National Geographic – our review) to cover loss of valuables.

5. Hanoi shoe repair

Hanoi shoe shiner. Source: juliasuh.com

How it works:

This is a less common scam, though watch out if you are wearing worn out shoes!

For this scam, some guy approaches you out of nowhere and applies glue to your shoes.

Next, he would take out a thread and tell you that your shoes are about to fall apart, which he can repair for $1.

If you didn’t realise, that glue is actually a solvent that dissolves stitches! Should you say yes, he would then proceed.

However, the trouble does not end when the job is completed, as he will be demanding $10 or more!

What to do:

Be alert and not let anyone apply anything to your shoes!

6. Street vendors of all kinds

Fruit lady of Hanoi

How it works:

There are vendors who sell books in boxes at cheap prices. But alas, those books are photocopies! You would not know as these “books” are wrapped up. Some are also of low quality – e.g. errors in pages, etc.

There are also vendors who will invite you to take a photo with them. Once taken, they will demand a fee or that you purchase their products.

For instance, we have the fruit ladies of Hanoi who may offer to lend you a fruit basket and to take a photo of you.

Also, you may come across fake beggars, such as fake cripples, hungry babies who are actually asleep due to alcohol and people who fake sickness and weakness.

Moving on to Sapa, we have the textile women who will try to guilt trip you. They accompany you on trips and will share their sob stories. At the end, they will ask that you buy handicrafts from them while crying.

Finally, avoid pesky photographers who offer to take photos of you. Firstly, they will take multiple photos and demand a much higher payment. Secondly, they will not deliver the photos to you as promised.

What to do:

Avoid donating to street beggars and avoid engaging the fruit ladies of Hanoi, textile women of Sapa and fake “photographers”.

Do be careful as some of them may work in groups, hound you, distract you and then steal from you.